F. Withdrawal from Courses

Students are permitted to withdraw from courses for which they have enrolled in a term until 5 p.m. (ET) on the last day of classes before the reading period in that term. Withdrawal from a course can be accomplished only by the submission of a course change notice through the office of the residential college dean. A fee of $5 will be charged for the processing of an approved course change notice on which withdrawal from a course is requested. Formal withdrawal is important, because failure to receive credit for courses in which students are enrolled will be recorded as F on their transcripts and may open them to the penalties described in section I, Academic Penalties and Restrictions, “Academic Warning” and “Dismissal for Academic Reasons.”

  1. TranscriptsEach course listed on a student’s course schedule appears on the student’s transcript unless the student withdraws from the course by midterm. See paragraph 3, below.
  2. PermissionAll course withdrawals require the permission of the residential college dean.
  3. Deadlines for withdrawal from coursesIf a student formally withdraws from a full-term course by midterm, as published in the Yale College Calendar with Pertinent Deadlines, then after the registrar has recorded the withdrawal, the transcript will contain no indication of that course. If a student formally withdraws from a half-term course by the relevant deadline published in the Yale College Calendar with Pertinent Deadlines, then after the registrar has recorded the withdrawal, the transcript will contain no indication of that course.
    If a student formally withdraws from a full-term course after midterm but before 5 p.m. (ET) on the last day of classes before the reading period, the transcript will record the course and show the neutral designation W (Withdrew) for the course. If a student enrolled in a half-term course formally withdraws from it after the deadline for the course to be removed from the transcript, but by the last date a withdrawal is permitted from the course, the student’s transcript will record the neutral designation W (Withdrew) for the course. See the Yale College Calendar with Pertinent Deadlines for both dates in each term. The deadlines apply to all courses, whether or not a particular course observes the reading period.
    A change of level in courses in which the subject is taught in an ordered progression, as, for example, in languages or in mathematics, is not considered a course withdrawal and does not result in the recording of a W (Withdrew).
    After these deadlines, withdrawal from a course is not permitted. An exception will be made only for a student who withdraws from Yale College for medical reasons as certified by Yale Health after the beginning of the reading period but by the last day of the final examination period; in such a case the student will be permitted to withdraw from a course with a mark of W (Withdrew).
  4. Withdrawal from a credit/year sequenceFor those credit/year course sequences in which a student receives the mark of SAT or NSAT for the first term and a letter grade for the second, withdrawal from the sequence after the first term is completed but before the second term is completed will result in the recording of a mark of W (Withdrew) for the first term.
  5. Lack of formal withdrawalIf, when grades are due, the instructor of a course notifies the registrar that a student has not successfully completed a course from which the student has not formally withdrawn, then a grade of F will be recorded for that course on the student’s transcript. See section B, Grades, General Regulations Concerning Grades and Transcripts. See also section H, Completion of Course Work, “Work Incomplete at the End of Term” and “Postponement of Final Examinations.”
  6. Withdrawal and Leave of Absence from Yale CollegeA student who is withdrawn or on leave of absence, including medical leave of absence, from Yale College may not attend classes or complete work that was assigned in the term in which the leave or withdrawal occurred, even if the deadline for such assignments was previously extended by the instructor or by the residential college dean. (Policy updated January 2023.)
  7. Transcripts of students withdrawn from Yale CollegeIt follows that if a student withdraws from Yale College by midterm, the transcript will not show that the student has been enrolled in any full time courses during that term. If a student withdraws from Yale College after midterm, but before 5 p.m. (ET) on the last day of classes before the reading period, the transcript will record the student’s courses with the designation W (Withdrew). If a student withdraws from Yale College after the beginning of the reading period, the transcript will show the student’s courses with grades of F unless an instructor reports a passing grade for the student in any of the courses. The only exception is for a student who withdraws from Yale College for medical reasons after the beginning of the reading period but before the end of the term; see paragraph 3, above.